Mortgage experts have been urging homeowners to opt for fixed-rate mortgages for weeks, to hedge against an inevitable rise in the base rate. However, new research from Moneyfacts shows that lenders are launching and withdrawing fixed-rate deals with almost indecent speed. Last month the average time scale for borrowers to secure a fixed-rate mortgage fell [...]
Northern Rock is once again offering mortgages to existing customers. The move follows a gap of well over a year during which period borrowers coming off fixed deals either reverted to the Rock’s standard variable rate or were forced to go elsewhere. The nationalised lender is strictly interested in retaining its best customers and only [...]
Britain’s mountain of debt continues to grow, with the average adult now owing 132% of their typical earnings. Collectively, UK consumers owe £1.459 trillion, Credit Action revealed this week, equivalent to £30,480 per person. Personal debt on credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, and unsecured loans is also on the rise, increasing to £4,860 per person [...]
In its latest Credit Conditions Survey, the Bank of England reports that the availability of mortgages with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios above 75% remained broadly unchanged during the three months to mid-June. However, improvements in the cost and availability of funds meant that a small majority of lenders reported an increase in the availability of secured [...]
Northern Rock is leading the field in “prime” mortgages that have fallen into negative equity. A new report from ratings agency, Fitch, reveals that almost one in six households at the upper end of the UK property market have home loans that exceed the value of their properties. In the case of the state-owned Northern [...]
The plight of would-be first-time buyers is highlighted by new research from Moneysupermarket.com. According to the price comparison website, home loans requiring a 10% deposit have all but disappeared in the credit crisis with only 102 available today, compared with 3,124 in January 2007, a decline of 97%. First-time buyers are also being penalised on [...]
A short-list of the financial providers that offer the best customer service was unveiled this week by Moneywise. Moneywise revealed the firms that have been nominated for its Customer Service Awards 2009 in the categories of online current accounts, in-branch current accounts, mortgages, home insurance, and credit cards. Halifax, First Direct, and Lloyds TSB are [...]
The latest figures form the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) gives further hope to the call that the property market will soon begin to stabilise after gross mortgage lending increased by 16 percent in March, compared with February to around £11.5bn. It is still down 52% from the 2008 figures, however the sharp increase is [...]
Thus far in April, asking prices have fallen by an annual 7.3 percent according to Rightmove.co.uk and is the smallest drop since January. In addition to an annual 9 percent fall in March, it seems as though asking prices and, in turn, house prices are beginning to level out as credit is becoming more readily [...]
The Bank of England’s sixth consecutive interest rate cut is finally having an impact on the housing market as interest rates on the nation’s five most popular mortgage deals are at their lowest for the last year and a half. The Bank of England’s latest figures released yesterday shows that the average two-year fixed-rate deal [...]
HSBC is launching a range of home loans with first-time buyers in mind. The new mortgage offering includes a two-year fixed-rate with a maximum 90% loan-to-value ratio, at 4.99% and with a fee of £1,499. Also likely to be of interest to house purchasers with a 10% deposit is the lender’s two-year fixed-rate loan at [...]
The anxiously awaited recovery of the UK housing market is still blighted by mortgage lenders’ demands for high deposits. Latest figures from financial website, Moneyfacts, show the number of home loans on offer increasing to 1,485, up from 1,398 in March. However, over two-thirds of the deals on the market require a deposit of at [...]
Nationwide has reduced the cost of a number of its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages by up to 0.25%. The lender is offering a two-year fix from 3.78%; three-year from 4.28% and five-year from 4.78%, from 1st April. All the new loans have a £299 reservation fee for existing customers and a £995 reservation fee for [...]
Figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) show a rise in the number of mortgages approved for house purchase in February, signalling the third consecutive monthly increase. Last month 28,179 loans for house purchases were sanctioned, up from 24,278 in January and significantly ahead of November’s record low rate of 17,878. However, February’s figure is [...]
Research from Legal & General (L&G) indicates that more homeowners are opting for fixed-rate mortgages. The insurer’s Mortgage Purchase Index for the first quarter of 2009 shows 72% of residential borrowers choosing a fix, compared to 65% in the last three months of 2008. Buy-to-let borrowers followed the trend with 68% of property investors choosing [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) must show banks that ‘it has real teeth’ if it is to protect consumers from banking blunders and greed, consumer advice group Which? said this week. Which? said banks must be hit with ‘bigger fines’ when they mess up if the FSA is to restore public confidence in the financial [...]
Lenders have pledged to reduce standard variable mortgage rates (SVRs) in line with the Bank of England’s 0.5% base rate cut. Lloyds TSB, Abbey, Halifax, Barclays, Skipton, Cheltenham & Gloucester, and Nationwide have all promised to pass on the majority of the reduction. The Bank of England last week cut the base rate in half [...]
Yorkshire Building Society has reduced the costs of its fixed-rate mortgages with 60% and 75% loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. A two-year fixed-rate home loan at 60% LTV is now available from 3.69% with a fee of £495. The deal is being offered to house purchasers and remortgagers and includes a free standard valuation and a free [...]
The Bank of England suggested this week that it is unlikely to cut base rates to 0%, but instead will seek to stimulate the UK economy by increasing money supply. Base rates were cut by 0.5% this month to a new record low of 1%, but the Bank of England has now said that further [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of mortgages for house purchases fell 49% in 2008. Just 516,000 such loans were agreed during the year, representing the lowest level of activity since 1974. In December, house purchase loans slid to 32,000 down 5% on November to the lowest level since monthly [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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